BLOOMINGTON, Ind. -- Just look at him: taped-up ankles, stocky, red head, dripping with sweat.

"Cov always says he looks more like a bowler than a basketball player," Indiana teammate A.J. Moye says.

True. But during a scrimmage Wednesday at Assembly Hall, the rest of the Hoosiers might as well have been pins as Tom Coverdale knocked over all in his path.

Coverdale is the consummate tough, gritty guard in college basketball. He gives hope for everyone who wants to play the game but doesn't possess the high-flying skills, the ability to dunk or the ability to make crowd-standing plays.

No, 'Cov' toughs it out, beats opponents by finding gaps to the basket, continually keeps moving to pop open for 3-pointers and simply messes with the mind of the man trying to guard him.

"Toughness for me is all mental," Coverdale said. "It's mental toward the end of the game when you're not thinking, you're tired and you're making hustle plays. I have to make those plays because if I don't then I'm not any good. Every other player is quicker than me, so I have to use my strength. I've got to be in better shape and do all the little things."

	Tom Coverdale playing in pain was a common sight last season.

Coverdale wasn't supposed to play nearly as much as he has when he signed on at Indiana. He was a throw-in, a project. And it was hard to be convinced otherwise when he played only 41 minutes in 10 games under Bob Knight in 1999-2000. When Knight was fired two years ago, assistant-turned-head coach Mike Davis needed Coverdale to be his point guard. Quite frankly, he didn't have anyone else. Coverdale's 41 minutes qualified as "experience."

No quicker as a sophomore than he was as a freshman, Coverdale struggled at times but gutted out 32 starting assignments in 34 games. He averaged 10.7 points, 4.8 assists and -- get this -- scored 30 points in a win over then-No. 10 Notre Dame.

But he was still considered too slow to run a Big Ten squad. So, in his first recruiting class, Davis brought in Donald Perry to push 'Cov.' All it did was make him better. Coverdale did more than solidify his starting role, he emerged as the team's emotional leader. He became as important to Indiana's surprising Final Four run as Jared Jeffries, now a first-round draft pick in the NBA.

Coverdale averaged 11.9 points, dished out 178 assists (second-best in school history), fashioned a 2-to-1 assist-to-turnover ratio in the Big Ten and made 70 3-pointers. But his best stat wasn't a number. It was his ability to play through pain, which inspired Indiana more than any fast-break dunk.

The 6-foot-2, 185-pound guard played with pain all season, but his defining moment, not to mention most painful, came in the South Region final. Coverdale, already hobbled with an ankle injury suffered in the first round, was carried off the court with just under 10 minutes to play against Kent State. He left Rupp Arena following Indiana's 81-69 victory over Kent State in a wheelchair, and his availability in the Final Four was the biggest question of the week.

He arrived in Atlanta with an ice bag attached to his ankle. The throbbing never stopped, but neither did 'Cov.' And, had it not been for the diligence of trainer Tim Garl and Coverdale's commitment to play, the Hoosiers might not have reached the title game. Coverdale sat out practices and didn't suit up until game night of the national semifinals. He proceeded to play 29 gut-wrenching minutes, and while he made only a 3-pointer and dished out four assists, the Hoosiers would have likely been lost without him.

"He's got an incredible pain threshold," teammate Kyle Hornsby said.

"It doesn't matter if he's hurt, he never wants to sit on that bench," Davis said. "It doesn't matter if he's got three or four fouls. He never wants to be on that bench. He wants to be out there for 40 minutes."

So, get this, Davis recruited two more guards this season, sensational scorers for freshmen, quick to the ball and active defensively. Sure, Bracey Wright and Marshall Strickland are going to play a lot this season. Wright will probably start at one guard, with Strickland backing up Coverdale. But neither will take too many minutes away from Coverdale. No chance.

"There's nobody as tenacious as he is in the country," Wright said. "Look at him, though, and you think there's no way he can beat anybody. But then you look up and he's got 30 on you. If his team is down in a pickup game, he's not going to let them lose. He pushes himself to be better, he was really something to watch in conditioning."

During Wednesday's scrimmage, Wright had his moments, nailing several 3s, but Coverdale's team won by 30.

"He's real physical," Strickland said. "His game is all about body positioning. He gets people off balance."

	“	He's strong as a bull. He's not flashy, no crossover with him. He's probably the only kid tougher than me. ... Unless Jay Williams transfers here from the Chicago Bulls, no one is going to move him out. And even if he came here, he would get a fight from 'Cov.' ”
		— A.J. Moye, Indiana junior guard

Defensively, Coverdale picked off a few passes, converting for layups at the other end. He was more verbal than he was last season, making sure his team knew what play they were running, where the freshmen needed to be on the court.

"He understands the game so well," Davis said. "Defensively, he always stays in front of his man, even if it's a quicker opponent. He gets in your head, he's so strong, so solid. His feel for the game is underrated. He can pull up on you at any time and made shots."

So, where did this supposedly non-basketball player from Noblesville, Ind., get this toughness on the court?

"Growing up and having my brothers beat me up all the time," Coverdale said. "Since I've been playing basketball, everyone says I can't do this or can't do that. The most fun I have is proving people wrong. Everyone says I'm too slow, too short and don't have the body for basketball."

Davis said he wasn't trying to recruit over Coverdale, but he's the type of player who needs to be pushed. Adding Perry, Wright and Strickland over the past two seasons helped the Hoosiers add quickness, perimeter scoring and depth. But more than anything else, it has made Coverdale a tougher player.

Coverdale said he is most proud of the fact that he has survived this long and is extremely loyal to Davis for giving him the chance. He rewards him by almost never missing practice. Like Dane Fife last season, Coverdale knows the younger players pick up on whether or not a senior misses practice. Fife didn't and Coverdale doesn't plan on it this season, regardless of how many beatings he takes during the season.

"He's strong as a bull," Moye said. "He's not flashy, no crossover with him. He's probably the only kid tougher than me. He nearly broke my neck one day when we were wrestling.

"They say we keep bringing in guys to speed up the tempo. Coverdale speeds up the tempo and gets us going. It would take a lot to move this guy out. Unless Jay Williams transfers here from the Chicago Bulls, no one is going to move him out. And even if he came here, he would get a fight from 'Cov.' "

And while Coverdale might not play in the NBA, he's determined to play professionally somewhere on the globe. Go ahead, try to stop him.

Andy Katz is a senior writer at ESPN.com.